This application is copending with U.S. patent application Ser. No. 070,753 filed July 6, 1987 for "Organic Electrolyte For Use In A Lithium Rechargeable Electrochemical Cell and Lithium Rechargegable Electrochemical Cell Including Said Organic Electrolyte" and assigned to a common assignee. In that application, there is described and claimed a lithium rechargeable electrochemical cell including lithium as the anode, the lithium intercalating compound Li.sub.x CoO.sub.2 (O&lt;.times.&lt;1) as the cathode, 1 to 2 mol dm.sup.-3 LiAsF.sub.6 in dimethylcarbonate or 1 to 2 mol dm.sup.-3 LiAsF.sub.6 in dimethylcarbonate mixtures with methyl formate in which the mass percent of the dimethylcarbonate component can vary from 25 mass percent to 100 mass percent as the electrolyte.
Another lithium intercalating compound, to wit, ns-V.sub.6 O.sub.13, is particularly attractive for battery applications because of its inherently high energy content. However, the known ns-V.sub.6 O.sub.13 cathode material/solvent combinations are either unstable with the cell components or susceptible to severe oxidation during charge and reduction during discharge which results in losses in cell capacity and cycle-life. In addition to oxidation and reduction of the electrolyte, both the cathode and anode are subject to reaction with the solvent and electrolyte. This can result in poor lithium cyclability and structural rearrangement of the active material which may limit rechargeability.